


The Promise

by fandomfreak



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-18
Updated: 2014-03-18
Packaged: 2018-01-16 04:34:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1332061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomfreak/pseuds/fandomfreak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles begs Derek never to leave Beacon Hills again. Derek complies, but not necessarily in the way Stiles had in mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Promise

**Author's Note:**

> I started this yesterday so I'm just gonna pretend no one died on tonight's episode and include 'em all in the beginning.

            After it all goes down, Stiles refuses to see anyone other than his dad and Scott. He stops going to school and rarely leaves his house. Scott and the sheriff insist this is only temporary, that Stiles just needs time to heal, but the pack isn’t so sure. Lydia texts him every day even though he never texts back. Isaac joins Melissa in the kitchen and is constantly sending him food with Scott. Allison calls every day to ask how he’s doing, trying to find a way to help. Derek takes a different approach.

            At first, he shows up at the Stilinski house every day, asking to see Stiles. The sheriff always has a different excuse. “His son is sleeping” or “Stiles is having a bad day” or “he’s just not ready to see people”. Eventually, Derek realizes he’ll never see Stiles at this rate, so he decides he’ll do something different.

            He starts showing up at night and just sitting outside of Stiles’ window, watching over him. He makes sure to mask his scent since Scott is practically living at the Stilinski home nowadays. He knows the sheriff and Scott are taking good care of Stiles but he still feels the need to protect him. He still wants to make sure Stiles is safe.

 -          

            He spends his days sleeping and his nights watching over Stiles. He’s always close by, even if Stiles never realizes. He dreams about that day they all thought he was dying. He remembers finding him bleeding out, Kira’s sword on the floor beside him. He was the first one there. Stiles was weak, probably delirious, because he was speaking nonsense. Derek was trying to find a way to stop the bleeding but Stiles wouldn’t shut up and it was hard to concentrate. He finally snapped.

            “Shut up, Stiles. I’m trying to save your life!”

            “Don’t be such a sourwolf,” Stiles replied, chuckling weakly.

            Derek glared but managed to press his shirt against the wound.

            “Kira trapped it in a jar, just like her mom did all those years ago,” Stiles explained, trying to sit up.

            “Stay still. There’s an ambulance on the way,” Derek commanded

            “Derek?” Stiles asked, his voice weak.

            “What?”

            “Promise me you won’t leave again. Bad things happen when you leave.”

            That’s when the ambulance arrived and the paramedics, along with Scott and the sheriff, all crowded around Stiles. That was the last time he’d gotten a chance to talk to him. He never even got a chance to tell him that yes, he did promise to stay and make sure bad things didn’t happen again, and he’d kept that promise, even if Stiles would never know that he now had a guardian angel.

 -

            It’s a cold night in the middle of December. Derek has been outside Stiles’ window for a few hours now when he overhears Scott and Stiles talking.

            “Scott, it’s okay. Go on the date. I’ll be fine.”

            “You sure? I can go another day. Your dad won’t be home until much later and I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

            “Because you don’t trust me?” Stiles sounds hurt.

            “Because what you went through was terrible and if you’re not ready to be alone I’m going to stay with you until you are.”

            “I’ll be okay. Really. I’m probably just going to watch movies until I fall asleep.”

            “I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep, then I’ll go.”

            “You don’t have to.”

            “I want to. Remember that time at the motel when I told you I still hadn’t watched Star Wars and I said that if we all made it through the night I would watch it? Let’s watch it now.”

            He hears the TV turning on, hears someone fiddling with the PS3 controller until he can hear the movie starting. He watches as they both lie on the bed, their shoulders touching. He finds himself wondering what it would be like if their roles were reversed and he was the only one Stiles wanted to see. He can almost feel Stiles’ shoulder against his, the warmth of human touch comforting them both.

            He realizes that he’s been thinking about Stiles too much, wonders when he started actually liking him. He doesn’t know what’s going on anymore. It’s like he’s 13 again and he can’t control his emotions. One minute, he’s throwing things around his loft, angry that he’s feeling this way, angry at what happened to Stiles, angry that Stiles asked him to stay only to push him away. The next minute, he’s thinking about Stiles’ soft brown eyes, picturing his goofy grin, counting all the moles on his cheek, and feeling like an idiot for feeling this way over someone who doesn’t even want to see him. He doesn’t really understand these new feelings, never considered being in a relationship with another man. He chooses to push these feelings away, not because they’re both guys, but because he doesn’t want to deal with this right now. He’s going to protect Stiles and that’s that.

 -

            A few hours later, Scott is quietly slipping out of the Stilinski house. Stiles is fast asleep. He used to sleep sprawled out on the bed, mouth wide open, but now he sleeps curled up, hugging his knees. It’s just one of the many things that the nogitsune stole from him. It makes Derek sad that the goofy kid he met is no more. Now, Stiles is always tense and anxious. He wonders if Stiles will ever be okay.

\-           

            It’s hours later when he notices that Stiles has been tossing and turning too much. He’s seen this happen many times before, but he’s not sure he should intervene. He decides to leave him be. If things get really bad, he’ll step in.

            Stiles is screaming now, still asleep. He’s clawing at his face, begging for the bandages to come off. Without hesitation, Derek runs in. He wraps his arms around Stiles, making sure he doesn’t hurt himself more. He’s already scratched both cheeks so bad that he’s bleeding. The smell of tears and blood, mingled with sweat and fear are so strong that Derek feels like he’s being suffocated.

            “Stiles. Stiles. Wake up,” Derek says, gently shaking the boy.

            Stiles is still screaming when he wakes up. It takes him a few seconds to realize what’s going on. His screams slowly die out as he wakes up completely. His body is stiff and Derek can see his fists clenching and unclenching.

            “You okay?” Derek asks, unsure of whether to keep holding him.

            He nods. “Is this real?”

            “Yeah. It is,”

            “But it makes no sense,” Stiles replies, voice raspy. “Why would you be here? You’re always in my dreams but never when I’m awake.”

            Derek is shocked by the confession but pretends it means nothing. “You sure about that?”

            Stiles frowns. “What do you mean?”

            Derek shakes his head. “Nothing. You should go take a shower. You’re drenched in sweat.”

            Stiles pulls away from Derek, his hands shaking. “Whose blood is this?”

            “Stiles-“

            “This isn’t real. This isn’t real,” he begins to repeat as he places his head between his hands. “Wake up. Wake up!”

            Derek reaches out, placing a hand on Stiles’ shoulders. He’s trying to explain to Stiles that he scratched his cheeks in his sleep but Stiles is mumbling to himself. He’s hyperventilating now and Derek feels the sheer panic radiating from the boy. He doesn’t know what to do, has never had to deal with a situation like this. He decides to follow his gut.

            He moves Stiles’ hands and lifts his head, looking straight into deep brown eyes. He can see tears in them but pays no attention. He plants a quick kiss on Stiles’ lips and thanks the heavens when he finally has his attention.

            “You kissed me,” Stiles says, dumbfounded.

            “Yup.”

            “This really is a dream,” Stiles mutters.

            “Nope. It’s real.”

            “But you kissed me.”

            Derek rolls his eyes. “Yes, Stiles. I kissed you.”

            “Why?”

            “Well, let’s see. You were having a panic attack, I needed to get your attention, and most importantly, I like you,” Derek responds without hesitation.

            “You like, _like_ me?” Stiles asks, mouth wide open.

            “Yep.”

            “Since when?”

            Derek shrugs.

            “Gee, thanks. That’s convincing.”

            Derek sighs. “I really don’t know. One day, you were just this annoying bug, the next, I was thinking about protecting you. I don’t really understand it.”

            “I like you too,” Stiles admits. “Is that why you’re here? To tell me this?”

            Derek shakes his head. “I’m here to watch over you.”

            Stiles gets a look of realization. “I knew it! I could feel someone watching me every night but I kept telling myself I was just being paranoid. It’s been you the whole time, hasn’t it?”

            Derek nods.

            “But why?” Stiles asks, confused.

            “I promised you I would never leave.”

            “Oh.” Stiles doesn’t know what to say. He suddenly feels like taking a shower is a very, very good idea. “You mind if I shower before we continue this conversation?”

            Derek shakes his head. “Be my guest.”

   -

            When Stiles comes out of the shower, he finds Derek sitting by the window, watching the sky. It makes him feel at peace for some strange reason. He’s trying to figure out a way to continue the conversation from earlier when Derek speaks up.

            “After you left the hospital, I tried to come see you every day for weeks. Your dad wouldn’t let me, so eventually I just gave up. I knew you were hurting. That’s why I wanted to see you. I wanted to help you.”

            Stiles sits at the edge of his bed quietly, watching Derek.

            “I wanted to tell you that it’s not your fault. I spent so many years blaming myself for the fire that burned down my family and that’s no way to live. I needed to help you understand that but you didn’t want to see anyone other than Scott and your dad. I couldn’t help you emotionally but that doesn’t mean I was going to give up completely.”

            Stiles moves closer to Derek. Derek’s back is rigid but as he continues to talk, he begins to relax.

            “I’ve been watching over you for months. I’ve been here every single night making sure nothing happens to you. I’ve seen you at your best and at your worst and every single night, I started falling more and more in love with you, I just didn’t realize it until recently.”

            He turns to face Stiles. “I was never going to come in here. I was waiting until you were ready to see me but I saw you hurting yourself and I had to jump in. I couldn’t stand by and watch you get hurt, even if it was at your own hand. I’m sorry if I forced myself on you. If you want me to leave and never come back, I will.”

            Stiles scoots close to Derek, resting his head against Derek’s back. “Of course I don’t want you to leave, ever. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me and everything you’re still doing for me. Thank you for apologizing, even if you don’t need to. I like you Derek, I really do, but I’m not ready for a relationship and I don’t think you are either.”

            Derek nods. “I agree.”

            “We can try being friends for now, helping each other heal before jumping into a relationship. If the friendship develops into something else, then so be it, but if not, then we won’t push it to happen,” Stiles explains.

            “Okay,” Derek agrees.

            “Okay,” Stiles repeats, closing his eyes. Within seconds, he’s fast asleep, his entire weight resting against Derek. Derek listens to his steady heartbeat, the heartbeat he has come to know so well. A heartbeat he is almost certain is in sync with his own. He carefully moves Stiles’ head to his favorite pillow and makes sure he’s in a comfortable position before placing the blanket over his sprawled-out body. He smiles. For the first time in months, he sees traces of the old Stiles again. He makes sure Stiles is okay before resuming his position outside Stiles’ bedroom window, making sure no harm ever comes to him ever again.


End file.
